An Idaho slaughterhouse has entered into a consent decree with the federal government related to several violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDC Act). The consent decree, issued by the District Court of Idaho, states that Gregory T. Troost, doing business as T&T Cattle and T&T Cattle Pearl, and manager Mark A. Mourton of Parma, Idaho, violated the FDC Act by delivering into interstate commerce adulterated food within the meaning of 21 USC sec. 342(a)(2)(C)(ii)and 342(a)(4). The defendants also violated sec. 331(k) by causing new animal drugs to become adulterated under sec. 351(a)(5) while the drugs were held for sale after shipment in interstate commerce.

According to the FDA, the defendants offered for slaughter seven dairy cows with illegal levels of drug residues. These included cows with tissues that tested positive for elevated levels of penicillin and sulfadimethoxine. Ingesting food containing excessive amounts of antibiotics and other drugs can cause severe adverse reactions among the general population even at very low levels and can harm consumers who are sensitive to antibiotics. No illnesses have been reported relating to cows slaughtered by the defendants.

The consent decree prohibits the defendants from selling animals for slaughter for human consumption until they have implemented record-keeping systems to identify and track animals that have been treated with drugs. These records must also note the drug used, dosage, time of administration and how long before slaughter the drug needs to be discontinued. If the defendants offer any animals for sale or slaughter, they also must provide written information about the animals’ drug treatment status to the recipient of the animals.